Harry Potter and the Test of Faith
by bornforacting
Summary: Post OotP. Dark times abound in the magical world. Voldemort is gaining power steadily, determined to kill Harry and everybody that he loves. Harry reveals his feelings for Hermione, but if Voldemort finds out, she will be vulnerable to attack. Rating may


Harry Potter and the Test of Faith  
  
  
  
Chapter One: The Unexpected Invitation  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! This story has no monetary purpose, and it's just fan fiction.   
  
*****************************************************************************  
  
The sun was just rising over the horizon, illuminating Privet Drive. Golden rays fanned  
  
out over the neatly manicured lawns, lighting up the brass knocker on the door of the house  
  
owned by Vernon Dursley. This house was completely silent, as all but one of it's occupants was  
  
asleep.   
  
Harry Potter sat quietly at the window, his jet-black hair as untidy as ever, emerald-green  
  
eyes looking intently skyward. He glanced around his bedroom, which was rather messy.   
  
A trunk stood at the end of his bed, spell books and robes piled carelessly into it. The  
  
small portion of the desk not taken up by a large cage was littered with spare bits of parchment, a  
  
few quills, and an inkpot. A large cauldron sat in the corner, potion ingredients scattered around  
  
the area. This room's contents were not-so-normal for a fifteen-year-old boy, but Harry wasn't a  
  
normal fifteen-year-old boy.   
  
Harry Potter was a wizard - a wizard fresh from his fifth year at Hogwart's School of  
  
Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had been training in magic for five years, since the gamekeeper,  
  
half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, had turned up on Harry's doorstep and told him of his magical powers.  
  
Harry did not know anything about the hidden magical world, because he had been brought up by  
  
his mother's sister and her husband since the tragic demise of his own parents, who perished in  
  
the attack of the most evil wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort.  
  
It was this attack that made Harry so unusual, even for a wizard. Wormtail had betrayed  
  
their whereabouts to Voldemort, who had been looking to kill the Potters for quite some time.  
  
James Potter had tried to hold him off, yelling at Lily to take Harry and run. Voldemort killed  
  
him, and told Lily to stand aside and kill Harry, she refused to stop shielding her son, so  
  
Voldemort had killed her too, before turning his wand on Harry.   
  
But somehow, the curse that had taken the lives of so many great witches and wizards  
  
had failed, and instead of killing Harry, the spell had rebounded upon Voldemort. Barely alive,  
  
Voldemort had fled...  
  
But Harry had come face-to-face with him at Hogwarts at the end of fourth year. He had  
  
made it through the final task of the TriWizard tournament, touched the gleaming trophy, and it  
  
transported him straight to a graveyard, where Harry witnessed Voldemort's rebirth.   
  
Harry sighed. He had not heard from Ron or Hermione for two weeks. He had hoped that  
  
he would be able to go to The Burrow for the end of his vacation, but the Weasley family had  
  
gone to Romania to visit Charlie, so Harry was confined to number four, Privet Drive.   
  
Suddenly, three owls swooped in through the open window. Harry checked the wall  
  
calender in amazement. He had completely forgot that today was his birthday.  
  
Errol, who belonged to the Weasley family, collapsed onto his bed, closely followed by  
  
Hedwig and a brown tawny. All three of them had a parcel and a letter bound to their legs.   
  
Harry removed the parcels and carried Errol and Hedwig to the cage. The brown owl  
  
waited expectantly by the window, which made Harry think that there was something he must  
  
return to Hogwarts.   
  
Harry reached for Ron's letter.   
  
Harry,  
  
Happy Birthday! Are the muggles treating you right? I hope so.   
  
Charlie has taken us around to see all sorts of dragons. Some look pretty nasty.  
  
We saw a Hungarian Horntail up close. Man, I'm glad I didn't have to face one in the  
  
TriWizard tournament like you did.   
  
Hermione just wrote to me the other day. She sounds like she's having a nice  
  
vacation. I'm sorry we couldn't get you away from the muggles this summer, mate.   
  
I'm going to Diagon Alley on August 25th to get my school stuff. Can you make  
  
it? If not, see you on September 1st!  
  
Ron  
  
Harry smiled and reached for the parcel. It contained a box full of miniature dragons that  
  
were perfectly detailed and would breath real flame when you wanted them to. Harry looked  
  
contentedly at the dragons, who roared minutely back at him.   
  
Next was Hermione's parcel. It was extremely heavy and large. He ripped off the  
  
wrappings and saw a black leather case. He undid the buckles and opened it.   
  
Inside, there lay a dark red ball, two jet-black ones, two wooden clubs, and a small metal  
  
case that held a tiny golden, winged ball. It was his very own Quidditch set.  
  
"Wow, Hermione!" he exclaimed. The balls gleamed in the moonlight. He slit open her  
  
letter.   
  
Happy Birthday, Harry!  
  
Ron contacted me and told me that you wouldn't be able to go to his house over the  
  
summer, so I was wondering if you would like to spend the rest of the summer at my house. I've  
  
already spoken to Dumbledore about it, and he says that you may come.   
  
I'll understand if you don't want to, but if you do, we will pick you up on Saturday  
  
around 10:00 am. If I don't hear from you before then, I'll assume that's alright and we'll see  
  
you then!  
  
Love,   
  
Hermione  
  
It was all he could do to not leap in the air and whoop. He would be leaving Privet Drive  
  
in a day! He wouldn't have to go back to the Dursley's house for an entire year!  
  
Barely containing himself, he reached for the last parcel, and recognized Hagrid's  
  
handwriting. Inside there was a box containing a vast assortment of wizard sweets. Harry  
  
sampled a few new varieties of chocolate before turning his attention to the thick envelope.   
  
The feeling of elation from his presents was now replaced with a note of anxiety. He  
  
knew that this envelope contained his O.W.L. results. He needed top grades to take N.E.W.T.  
  
classes in the subjects he needed to become an Auror.   
  
He opened the envelope and pulled out the letter with trembling hands.   
  
Dear Mr. Potter,   
  
Please note that the new school year begins on September First. The Hogwarts Express will  
  
leave from Platform 9 & 3/4 at 9:00 am.   
  
Enclosed are your O.W.L. results from your exam last June. Please fill out the enclosed form  
  
and return it to the school for your N.E.W.T.s schedule and booklists.   
  
Sincerely,   
  
Minerva McGonagall  
  
Deputy Headmistress  
  
O.W.L Testing Results  
  
Charms - Outstanding  
  
Transfiguration - Exceeds Expectations  
  
Herbology - Outstanding  
  
Defense Against the Dark Arts - Outstanding  
  
Potions - Exceeds Expectations  
  
Care of Magical Creatures - Outstanding  
  
Astronomy - Acceptable  
  
Divination - Dreadful  
  
History of Magic - Poor  
  
Harry could have shrieked with relief. He had passed every subject he needed to pass for  
  
Auror N.E.W.T. classes, provided that Snape would allow him to continue Potions. Harry was  
  
not particularly worried about this - if Snape refused, Dumbledore would most likely step in and  
  
defend him.   
  
He pulled out the form and signed up for Auror classes. He attached the parchment to the  
  
brown owl's leg and watched it fly into the sunrise.   
  
Harry watched it leave and then headed downstairs for breakfast.   
  
**********  
  
The Dursleys were seated around the kitchen table when Harry arrived downstairs.  
  
Dudley was eating his fifth stack of pancakes and watching the morning cartoons. Harry helped  
  
himself to some bacon and sat down.   
  
"Um, Uncle Vernon?"  
  
His uncle grunted.   
  
"Can I go spend the last month of my vacation with one of my friends?"  
  
Grunt, grunt. Harry took that for a yes and said, "Thanks. Oh, and don't worry, her  
  
family is Mug- er, normal."  
  
Harry sprinted upstairs and threw his belongings haphazardly into his trunk. He knew that  
  
Hermione wouldn't pick him up until the next day, but he didn't care. He sat down to do some  
  
homework for the rest of the morning, feeling happier than he had in a long time.   
  
****  
  
A/N: I know that this was kind of a boring chapter, but I needed to set things up for the story. I  
  
promise that things will get more interesting soon!  
  
xoxo, actingflicka 


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